DENMARK | MARIE JULL SØRENSEN AND KIM ØSTERGAARD 143 is that the peer-customer negotiates with a professional who often possesses a superior level of expertise.”65. The intermediary rule does not refer to known agency figures66. It consists of three cumulative criteria: 1) The intermediary must act within his trade or business67; 2) The intermediary must play an active part in the transaction between the peer-customer and the peer-provider68; and lastly 3) the intermediary must not be the main contracting party or act in its own name. Of specific interest is the second criterion, which will be analysed in the following section. We will not address the last criterion below, since we have already discussed this issue in paragraph 5.2. 5.3.1. ACTIVE PART According to the preparatory work, the intermediary has to do more than just connect the two contracting parties to be regarded as an active part under the Danish intermediary rule69. If the intermediary only provides space on its website, a billboard or other passive possibilities of exchanging contact information, this will not constitute an active intermediary. On the other hand, if the platform praises the goods or services or takes part in the negotiations or transaction in other ways, it could be regarded as an active part, with the intermediary rule applying if the other two criteria are met. Defining the criterion of active participation has been the focal point in a couple of Danish cases. In SH2009.N.0001.07 (QXL) from 18 June 2009, the Danish Court of Sea and Commercial Law found the online auction platform QXL to be an active intermediary. The argumentation can be divided into two: firstly, the court found that QXL was acting as an agent for the supplier (a peer), as QXL was authorised to act on behalf of the supplier based on the fact that a contract was automatically concluded as soon as the consumer won the bidding round. Secondly, the court found that QXL participated significantly in the process of 65 L 119, 1978-1979 Forslag til Lov om ændring af købeloven, comments on Para 4a (2). Later repeated in L 220, 2004 om visse forbrugeraftaler og om ændring af lov om forsikringsaftaler og lov om beskatningen af pensionsordninger m.v., Section 4.2.1.1. 66 See KARSTOFT, S., ’Retlig regulering af ’elektroniske loppemarkeder’’, Ugeskrift for Retsvæsen, U2006B.55. 67 L 39, 1977 om Forslag til Lov om visse forbrugeraftaler, comments on Para 1(4). and Betænkning no. 845/1978 om forbrugerkøb, 59. (both preparatory work of the Danish Consumer Contract Act). 68 L 39, 1977 om Forslag til Lov om visse forbrugeraftaler, comments on Para 1(4) and L 27, 1994 om Forslag til Lov om ændring af lov om aftaler og andre retshandler på formuerettens område og visse andre love, comments on Para 38a. 69 Betænkning nr. 845/1978 om forbrugerkøb, sp. 18 and L 27, 1994 Forslag til Lov om ændring af lov om aftaler og andre retshandler på formuerettens område og visse andre love, comments on Para 38a(3).
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